SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Going down to the wire, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi women's basketball team got a crucial stop in the final seconds to secure the 63-61 decision over UIW Saturday in the McDermott Center.
The Islanders (9-4, 2-0 SLC) maintained a 10-point advantage through three quarters, before UIW (7-6, 0-2 SLC) cut it within two possessions for the majority of the fourth. Up just 63-61 with less than 10 seconds remaining, the Islanders came up with a big stop to run the clock down for the victory.
The game changer came off fouls as A&M-Corpus Christi took advantage at the free throw line, going 23-of-30 (.742) compared to UIW's 15-of-21. It marks the fourth straight game where the Islanders shot over 70 percent from the charity strip.
Graduate
Alecia Westbrook was crucial in the second half where she amassed 20 points to finish with her career-high of 27 after going an impressive 9 of 10 from the field. Senior
Paige Allen finished with 12 points off the back of consecutive threes in the second quarter while senior
Mireia Aguado joined them in double figures with 11.
Aguado was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line and also led the team with 10 rebounds, securing her first career double-double.
UIW also had a trio score in double figures, with Aaliyah Collins coming off the bench to finish with the team-high 19 points.
Turnovers plague both teams early, as the score remained just 2-2 through the first three minutes. Westbrook then connected on the contested putback to get the Islanders on top 4-2 before another pair of free throws from Allen pushed them to 6-3 at 6:02. Aguado got it to Westbrook inside at 5:12 for a 10-5 lead while the turnaround shot by McGill got the Islanders to 12. Aguado drove and the drew the and-one for a 15-7 advantage and the Islanders ended on top 16-9 through the first.
The Islanders got started in the second quarter at the charity strip as McGill sank both her free throws for an 18-11 lead. Allen went deep in back-to-back possessions for A&M-Corpus Christi to break open the game at 24-14. Aguado drove the lane and forced a UIW timeout at 5:37 as the Islanders took a 26-14 lead. Willstedt then drilled the three-pointer to up it to 31-16 at 4:19, though, the Cardinals cut into the deficit as the teams headed to the break with the Islanders up 35-23.
Westbrook began her barrage in the third, driving to the rim for the 37-23. Though, the Cardinals fought back with a 10-0 run to cut into A&M-Corpus Christi's lead 39-33 at 5:53. Westbrook got inside again, this time drawing the and-one as she completed the three-point play to get the Islanders back up 42-33. Westbrook got the free throw line again and made both to get to 20 points and a 48-37 lead with 1:53 to go. UIW got to 41, but Whitner fired the last-second three to keep the 10-point advantage going to the fourth.
By the media timeout, UIW had gotten out on an 11-4 run as they got within one possession in the fourth at 55-53. Westbrook went coast to coast for the bucket to get the Islanders back up 58-53, though, the Cardinals got back within two with 1:30 remaining. Aguado and Westbrook kept the Islanders ahead 62-58 from the free throw line with 24 seconds to go, but UIW threatened within one after the long-range goal. Willstedt headed down and drew the foul to make it 63-61, and the Islanders got the stop they needed to secure the win.
The Islanders conclude opening week of the SLC slate with the undefeated 2-0 record. Today's game began a three-game road stretch for them, as they will continue on the road to Southeastern and New Orleans next weekend.
NOTES
- A&M-Corpus Christi moves to 20-2 all-time against UIW and 10-2 when the teams play in San Antonio. The Islanders have now won all 10 of the last 10 meetings with the Cardinals.
- The Islanders have now won six in a row, scoring at least 60 in the last four. They improve to 8-0 on the year when scoring 60+ points.
- A&M-Corpus Christi has scored at least 50 points in every game this season. It is the first time since 2018-19 that the Islanders have scored at least 50 points in each of the first 13 games of the season.
- Westbrook submitted her seventh double figure scoring game of the season, third in the last four games, and 68
th in her career. It is her first time this year scoring 20+ points and eighth in her career. The 27 points broke her career best, previously set at 23 against McNeese (1/20/22).
- Allen registered her fifth double figure scoring game of the season, second in a row, and 36
th in her career. It is her second straight game of being perfect at the free throw line.
- Aguado turned in her sixth 10+ scoring game of the year, second in a row, and eighth in her career. She played her career-long 32:59 minutes, previously set at 32:28 against UIW (1/15/22). She also set her career-high of 10 rebounds to secure her first double-double of her career.
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